Does anyone need anything that costs more than a few dollars? What do people "need" other than the basic sustenance of life?

What's the point of an iPad?

We're all going to die someday. So, really, what's the point of anything?!

[table flip]

Who needs a tablet in this era of big phones and ultraportable laptops?

Who needs trombones in this era of flutes and tubas?

If you use your tablet mainly for watching media, for instance, Amazon will sell you a very good one that does just that for less than $100. Apple's cheapest iPad goes for $299.

You like 6-inch, 8GB devices that show ads, right? Oh, you don't? OK, then these two things that I just said are exactly the same except for price aren't the same at all. Apple's cheapest iPad is $249 as of Thursday, by the way. It features a larger screen, twice the memory, and no ads. And while Apple admits to a decline in iPad sales in recent quarters, Amazon has never given Kindle Fire sales figures. Ever.

It's funny how the question "ARE THESE TECHNOLOGICAL CONVENIENCES LITERALLY RUINING EVERYTHING?" only come up when Apple implements them. The Macalope doesn't remember the Times railing against the societal impacts of NFC when Android OEMs soldered it onto their devices.

OK, you're right. The Macalope gives up. Because, no, you're not reading that wrong. The Times really did devote over a thousand words to the issue of whether or not Tim Cook should tuck his shirt in. It was at least in the Fashion section, possibly because the Times doesn't have a section titled "Extreme Foppishness."